1. Technical Field
The following description relates to a liquid crystal display device and method, and more particularly, to an array substrate for a liquid crystal display device having a narrow bezel and method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, liquid crystal display devices (LCD) have attracted attention because it has low power consumption and good portability, and is a technology-intensive and a high-value-added product.
An active matrix type LCD including a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switching element in each of pixels arranged in matrix form is widely used because it has good resolution and a capability of displaying moving images.
Generally, the LCD is manufactured by manufacturing an array substrate and a color filter substrate, and injecting a liquid crystal between the array substrate and the color filter substrate.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an LCD according to the related art.
With reference to FIG. 1, the LCD 1 includes an array substrate 10 and a color filter substrate 20 with a liquid crystal layer 30 therebetween. The array substrate 10 includes a plurality of gate lines 14 and a plurality of data lines 16 on a transparent substrate 12 to define a plurality of pixel regions P, and a thin film transistor Tr is formed at the crossing portion of the gate lines 14 and data lines 16 and is connected to a pixel electrode 18 in each pixel region P.
The color filter substrate 20 includes a black matrix 25 of lattice shape on a transparent substrate 22 surrounding a boundary of the pixel region P to shield non-display elements such as the gate line 14, the data line 16, and the thin film transistor Tr, a color filter layer 26 including red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filter layers 26a, 26b, and 26c in respective pixel regions P, and a common electrode 28 on the black matrix 25 and the color filter layer 26.
Even though not shown in the drawings, a sealant is formed between peripheral portions of the array substrate 10 and the color filter substrate 20 to prevent leakage of the liquid crystal layer 30, alignment layers are formed between the array substrate 10 and the liquid crystal layer 30, and between the color filter substrate 20 and the liquid crystal layer 30, respectively, and a polarizing plate is located on least one of outer surfaces of the array substrate 10 and the color filter substrate 20.
A backlight unit (not shown) is located below the array substrate, and a driving portion (not shown) is connected to the array substrate 10 to operate the liquid crystal layer 30.
The driving portion is realized using a printed circuit board (PCB) (not shown). The PCB includes a gate PCB connected to a gate pad that is located at an end of each gate line 14, and a data PCB connected to a data pad that is located at an end of each data line 16.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating an LCD including a PCB according to the related art. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating another LCD including a PCB according to the related art.
With reference to FIG. 2, the array substrate 10 includes a display area DA and a non-display area (NA), which includes first to fourth areas NA1 to NA4 located at a top side, a bottom side, a right side, and a left side, respectively.
The data PCB 50 may be connected to a first or second area NA1 or NA2, and the gate PCB (not shown) may be connected to a third or fourth area NA3 or NA4. For the purpose of explanation, the data PCB 50 is connected to the first area NA1, and no gate PCB is used in FIG. 2. The data PCB 50 and the first area NA1 are connected to each other through data FPCs (flexible printed circuits) 62 including data driving ICs (integrated circuits) 72.
Instead of the gate PCB, gate FPCs 61 including gate driving ICs 71 are connected to the second area NA2, and are electrically connected to the data PCB 50 through signal lines formed at the array substrate 10.
Alternatively, with reference to FIG. 3, the data PCB 50 is connected to the first area NA1 through the data FPC 62, and gate driving ICs 73 are directly formed at the array substrate. This type LCD 1 is referred to as a GIP (gate-in-panel) type LCD.
The LCD as above is widely used for electronic devices, such as a TV, a monitor, a laptop, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. Recently, there is high demand for such devices having a narrow bezel, and to accomplish this, it is desirable for the LCD to have a narrow non-display area, i.e., a narrow bezel. Particularly, it is desirable for the LCD to have left and right non-display areas minimized.